Hotel gets go-ahead over cries to preserve historic homes

TUSCALOOSA | Pleas for preservation failed Monday night as the Zoning Board of Adjustment granted a variance for a proposed extended stay hotel in downtown Tuscaloosa.

By Jason MortonStaff Writer

TUSCALOOSA | The Zoning Board of Adjustment granted a variance for a proposed extended stay hotel in downtown Tuscaloosa on Monday over the opposition of residents, neighborhood advocates and a newly formed historical preservation group.The variance was sought by Cohen Realty and would clear the way for construction of a Home2 Suites by Hilton hotel in the 2600 block of University Boulevard.The site is adjacent to 2700 Capitol Park, a $20 million apartment project at the western end of University Boulevard between 27th and 28th avenues.Zoning for the latter project was approved earlier this month over the opposition of some local residents, who said it was out of character with the area and would infringe on the historic Capitol Park.City Councilman Bobby Howard, who represents the area, urged the board to approve the variance. Business leaders, officials from the Chamber of Commerce of West Alabama and others with financial interests in downtown, or in the project itself, also offered support.After John McConnell, director of city Planning and Development Services, said there wasn’t “a dime’s worth of difference,” between a hotel, which is allowed in the property’s zoning district, and the Hilton model of an extended stay hotel, which is prohibited, the board approved the variance unanimously.The block, owned by the LaMoreaux family, now contains a number of the oldest homes in the city. The block contains homes built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and a building that once housed Tuscaloosa’s first synagogue.Bryan Winter, a local attorney who spoke on behalf of Memphis, Tenn.-based Cohen Realty, told the board that the Home2 Suites should be permitted because about half of its users stay, on average, three nights or less despite its “extended stay” classification.He also rebutted claims by Tuscaloosa Neighbors Together and Preserve Tuscaloosa that the homes were of historic significance by showing photos of them in their current dilapidated and damaged condition.And while the area was recently given an honorary designation as a historic area, Associate City Attorney Tom Bobitt said the classification granted the area no special protection from development.McConnell said saving historic structures takes more than just a wish.The LaMoreaux family, McConnell said while gesturing to Philip LaMoreaux Jr., has been actively marketing the site for sale, and McConnell said that the board — should it deny the variance — may not like the next development the LaMoreaux family chooses.Saving these old homes would take cooperation between City Hall and the LaMoreaux family, McConnell said.“At least with the project, you know what you’re going to get,” McConnell said, adding that historic preservation “takes a willing property owner, and I don’t see a willing property owner here.”